Oiling Buddy's Wood

The beauty of oiled, matte-finished wood. 

 

Nige Ayers, of Simply Canoe, asked me when the maiden voyage would be. As I mentioned last night, there was that great temptation to grab the canoe and go, but I thought better of it. It’s really more important to seal the wood to keep water stains and dirt out of the wood, so I moved Ibi outside and set Buddy on the saw horses. Deks Olje #1 Matte is a finish I used for years on our sailboats. While I preferred varnish on most surfaces, Deks Olje was reserved for surfaces where sure-footedness or wear was an issue. It is a great alternative to varnish, protects and seals the wood grain, and is easily maintained. Assuming you’ve kept it up and not allowed the sun and water to do too much damage, all you have to do is wash the wood with a fine Scotch-Brite pad, let dry, and put on a few more coats of Deks Olje. There is no stripping or sanding needed.

All you do is mask surrounding areas of fiberglass so they won’t get stained, apply a coat of #1 Matte, and allow time for it to soak into the wood. It will only take about 15 minutes between the first two coats, but each coat takes a bit longer. I got four coats on Buddy’s wood today. Since it’s still cool outside, I wanted some time for it to sit in the sun and dry. After the last coat, you would wait for it to be pretty well absorbed, then take a rag with a little Deks Olje on it, and wipe all the surfaces. That removes any excess that may not have been fully absorbed, and removes any runs or heavy spots, and voila, you’re done. You now have wood that will hold a beautiful, golden, honey finish for months.

Here’s a link with more information.
http://www.floodaustralia.net/products/wood_care/deks_olje_1.php